24/7 animal rescue : Giving a new life to city’s neglected furry residents

KARACHI:

On a breezy afternoon in Karachi, some teenagers were playing cricket outside their houses, on the main road. Their game, however, was suddenly interrupted as they saw a stray dog roaming in the neighbourhood. Sniffing the garbage dumped near the footpath, the dog seemed to be looking for food. The kids felt threatened, collectively decided to pick up some stones from the ground, and started pelting them at the poor creature, injuring it.

For the kids, scaring the dog away was a moment of triumph. Something they celebrated with laughter and high-fives before resuming the game.

It is not the kids’ fault per se, as treating stray animals with cruelty is something they witness in their day-to-day lives. Adults do it all the time, so kids naturally internalise this unconscionable behaviour.

Despite being a society which has had the chance to discover, grow, and adapt to changes over the years, peacefully coexisting with animals is something that most Pakistanis have still not learned.

Cruelty and lack of empathy towards animals have become normal, and to top it all off, concepts like animal welfare are often mocked for being trivial.

But even with such prevalent negative attitudes, there is a small segment of society that takes animal welfare very seriously. These people have not only learned to coexist with animals but are equally devoted to protecting and taking care of them.

Small numbers, big hearts

Arsalan Shikoh Khan was driving home from office one evening when he saw a truck running over a cat at the Baloch Colony flyover in Karachi.

“I stopped my car, managed to pick up the injured cat from the busy road, and took it aside,” Khan, who works at TPL Insurance, told The Express Tribune. “The cat was hardly breathing, and it was evident that it needed immediate medical assistance.”

Khan had recently joined the Facebook page of the Karachi-based Animal Rescue & Transportation Service (ARTS), so he decided to call them for help.

“They told me to take the cat to a nearby vet for first aid and assured me that their team was on the way. When I reached home from the vet’s clinic with the cat, the ARTS team was waiting at my door.”

Fifteen days after the incident, Khan received good news related to the cat's recovery. What's more, ARTS also arranged for a family to adopt the feline.

Since that day, ARTS became Khan's go-to rescue service for animals.

“It’s a wonderful service and a telltale sign that humanity is still alive and thriving. I would request people to donate to the organisation so that they could continue to help the voiceless souls that need us out there on the streets.”

 

A noble initiative

Given the uncountable number of stray cats, dogs, and other animals in Karachi which are in desperate need of food, shelter, and medical treatment, there are a very few non-governmental organisations that are tirelessly working to make a difference. Despite that, they do not have the resources to carry out animal rescue operations on a large scale.

Sensing the acute dearth of animal rescue services in the city and the burden that a few big organisations had to bear due to the scarcity of resources, a 28-year-old Karachi resident Muhammad Arsalan Rana decided to establish ARTS in 2018.

“A few years ago, my cat fell ill and was in a dire need of treatment. Unfortunately, there were no veterinarian or rescue services available at nighttime,” said Rana. “I had to wait for several hours for clinics to open in the morning, but it was too late. My cat died because of the non-availability of timely medical care. That’s when I made up my mind to change the face of animal rescue in Karachi and found ARTS.”

Rana aimed to come up with round-the-clock service so that no animal would have to suffer because of the absence of vets at odd hours.

“Initially, I was working two jobs and had to conduct the rescue operations all night long, entirely on my own. But after a year and a half, our service has come a long way. Now, ARTS has a team of five passionate rescuers, along with our marketing head Madiha Ali who is responsible for fundraising,” he explained.

“We have also expanded our domestic rescue services to other parts of Pakistan, including Hyderabad, Lahore, and Islamabad. Our goal is to expand the team and establish a 24/7 hospital to cater to more and more animals.”

So far, ARTS has protected and treated more than a thousand animals, including both pets and strays.

“Apart from rescuing and transporting sick and injured animals, we are also available for a 24/7 search-and-rescue mission for lost pets,” Rana said. “Even though we are a paid service, we rely on donations if the owner or the caller is unable to pay for treatment.”

Rates of adoption

According to Rana, the rates of adoption are, unfortunately, exceptionally low in the city as most people do not want to keep the animals at home and take care of them.

“Per an estimate, only about 30 per cent of our rescued animals have been adopted. Even right now, we have a lot of animals, including kittens, puppies, and adult cats and dogs, who are waiting for loving and caring homes.”

Aside from facing difficulties in finding people to adopt the animals, raising funds for the project has also been an uphill struggle for ARTS, Rana said.

“The rescue, treatment, and care of unsponsored animals incur significant costs which we have to cover through donations. We take the animals to renowned vets in Karachi so that proper treatment is provided to them,” he said. “That apart, our team also goes on a food-distribution spree to take care of stray animals which are starving on the streets.”

Establishing trust

As the internet is full of scams these days, it takes some time for people to trust animal welfare organisations with their money. Fortunately, ARTS earned considerable support from people across the city, thanks to its timely and efficient service, Rana said.

“A lot of people trust us and rely upon our service now. Many families also send us their donations through our Facebook and Instagram pages,” Rana revealed. “People call us at different spots in the city every day and pay us there and then for the animal’s treatment, so things are gradually improving.”

Tooba Rauf Malik, a Karachi-based HR professional and an ardent cat lover, said she has availed ARTS’ rescue service four times over the last few months.

“I once saw an injured cat on the street and couldn’t take it for treatment, therefore, I decided to contact ARTS through their Facebook page. To my surprise, the team reached the location within two hours, which greatly impressed me,” Malik said.

“There are other animal rescue services available in Karachi and they are doing the best they can. Owing to the lack of resources, however, the services are not as timely as that of ARTS. Having said that, all these organisations are doing an exceptional job and they all should be applauded and equally supported.”

Malik approached ARTS for the fourth time to rescue a Persian pet kitten which had been injured.

“I trust their service, especially their punctuality, practicality, and honesty. That is why I paid for the treatment immediately and they took care of everything," she stated. "The best thing about ARTS is that if someone cannot pay, they still provide treatment to the animals through the donations they receive. They never say no to an animal."